Aeroplane



G. PLOGER Feb. 21, 192s.`

AEROPLANE Filed July 15, 1927 s sneetsheet 1v A DI mii. B5' Y mrnqy Feb.21,192s. 1,659,744

G. PLOGER AEROPLANE Filed July 15, 1927 s sneetslsheet 2 Inventar Feb. 21, 192s.

G. PLOGER AEROPLANE :s sheet's-sheet 3 Filed July l5, 1927 fwd Patented y Feb. 2l, 1928.

UNITED STATES GUSTAN' PLGGER, 0F DELL, MONTANA AEROPLANE.

Application led July 15, 1937. Serial No. 206,016.

'This invention` relates to certain new and `useful improvements in aeroplanes and has particular reference to the propulsion thereof. i

l The primary object of the invention is to .providejan improvedform of propelling mechanism` for faeroplanes, by means' of which the same maybe caused to travel for- ;wardly or in a substantially vertical direc- 10 tionA or at any inclined plane between the `horizontal and vertical. y

In the practical application of the invention Iprovide apair of propellers mounted on ahoriaontal transversely extending drive W shaft and arrangedto exert their propelling force toward the center of the machine and against air pockets formed therein arranged :in such a `manner as to cause the air forced into saidfpockets to exert a lifting force upon o the machine whereby to raise the same upwardly, and further to provide means for adjusting the pockets whereby to exert a lifting force in a forward direction thus tendy ing to urge the machinelforwardly.

i -Another object of the invention is to pro- 1 vide an apparatus of this character of simple "and practicalconstruction, efficient and reliableinperformance, compact in arrange i ment, and readily` adapted to be installed. as

ma part `ofthe construction of the average l view taken alonga line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 isa top plan view. Figured is a perspective View of the air pipe extending from the pocket to the rudi der and tail planes, and

Figure 5 is a similar view of the frame y comprising the pockets y A Referring now to the accompanying drawings wherein' for the purpose of illustration l have `disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates the fuselage of the machine mounted on a suitable landing gear 6 and with the upper forward portion thereof provided with a cochpit 'l'` within which is arranged the control mechanism for the various elements of the machine, the rear end of the fuselage supn porting the vertically `pivoted rudder d for the directional control of the machine and the horizontally disposed `tail plane@ pro viding means for the elevational control thereof. The rudder and tail planes may be controlled in any conventional manner from the cockpit, such control means not constitiltingV a part of my invention, and accordingly are not shown in the present disclosure thereof. The underside of the fuselage intermediate its ends is open to provide an air space within the saine, the limitations of said air space at the rear being indicated by the inclined dotted lines 10, with the forward end of such air space terminating immediately rearward of the cockpit. `Within such air space is arranged a horizontal transversely disposed drive shaft ll having each end suitably supported in bearings l2 arranged at the opposite sides of the fuselage and upon each end of said shaft is arranged a wheel 13, freely carried on the shaft and mounted for rotation independent thereof the rim lll of said wheel being integrally formed with the side portion l5 of a poclret 16, arranged inwardly of the side of the fuselage from said wheel. Une of said lill Ell

pockets is arranged adjacent each of the wheelsat each side of the fuselage,` the inner wall of the pocket 17 being inclined downwardly and inwardly from the upper edge of the fuselage and are connected at their lower edges to constitute a unit. |The inner wall 17 of each pocket is slightly concaved as illustrated in Figure 2 and each pocket is open at its lower end to permit the escape of air therefrom in a manner as `is hereinafter enplained.

Openings 18 are formed in each of the inner walls 17 of each pocket towhich is attached the trunnion coupling i9 of the forked end 20 of a rearwardly eiitending air pipe 21 carried within the fuselage and having` a discharge port arranged to direct the air against the rudder 8. A valve 2Q is interposed within the air pipe 2l having an operating leveil 23 attached thereto and con-- nected with a control rod 2i extending to Within the cockpit.

Each side of the fuselage l arrange a stationary wing 25 extending laterally at each side thereof and secured in a stationary position with respect to the machine by means of braces 26. rlhe inner ends of the wing are secured to the sides of the fuselage adjacent the ends of the shaft'll, the sides of .the fuselage adjacent the wheels 13 being open topermit the entrance of air therethrough to within the pockets 16. The shaft 11 extends transversely through said pockets, each pocket having a propeller 27 mounted there in upon the opposite ends of the shaft. A suitable motor 28 is mounted within the fuselage between the inner walls 17 of each pocket for driving said -propellers lt is thus apparent that upon the rapid rotation of the propellers the air Vwill be driven againstthe inner walls 17 Vof each pocket in a direction toward the center of the fuselage and by the exertion of the air pressure against each other a lifting impulse will be given the machine. The buoyancy of the machine is enhanced by the suction of the air at each surface of the wings 25, the tendency of the inrushingair by the propellers being to cause a pressure on the underside of the i f wing and arvacuum on the upper side thereof tained in adjusted which will chine. j

',lhe pockets 16 may be rotated upon the shaft 11 independent of the driving action thereof for the propeller, so as to direct the opening in the lower end of the pocket either in a straight downward direction as shown by thedotted lines in Figure 1 of the drawing, or in a rearwardly inclined direction as illustrated by the full lines. For the adjustment of such pockets, a lever 29 is secured to `one of the wheel shafts to which is connected a rod 30 extending within the cockpit and to the forward end of which is attached a control lever 31 adapted to'be adjustably reposition by means of a also aid in stabilizing the maquadrant 32.y

lt will be apparent that. upon arranging the opening in the lower end of the pocket '16 in a rearwardly inclined direction as indicated by the full lines in Figure 1 of the drawing that the rush of air therefrom will eXerta forward and upward lifting force upon the pocket and consequently urge the machine in a forward and upward direction, Likewise, by adjusting the pocket with the lower edge thereof at a horizontal plane, the lifting force of the machine will be directed in a vertical upward direction so as to cause the machine to rise vertically.

When .operating the machine to move in a longitudinal direction. the valve 22 carried in the air pipe 21 is ythen open permitting a discharge of air from the pocket therethrough against the rudder 8 and tail planes 9, thereby aiding the stabilization of the machine. Y

Lasarte. f

lt is obvious that the invention is susceptible of various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of the various parts, with out departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims. and l accordingly claim all such forms of the device to which I am entitled.

l claim:

1. ln combination, an aeroplane including a fuselage, directional and elevational control lmeans at one end of said fuselage, a shaft extending transversely thereof, propellers mounted adjacent each end of said shaft, air pockets carried on said shaft and ada ted to receive the driving force 'of said prope lers whereby to exert a lifting influence upon the fuselage, an air pipe communicating with said pockets having a discharge end adapted Vto direct the air from the pockets against said directional and elevational and control means, a control valve for said air pipe, drive means for the propeller, and means for controlling the angular position of said pockets.

2. ln combination, an aeroplane including afuselage` wings extending laterally from each side thereof, directional and elevational control means at the rear of the fuselage, an opening formed in the underside of the fuselage, a shaft extending transversely of the fuselage above said opening, propellers mounted on said shaft adjacent each end thereof, a pair of air pockets having walls arranged inwardly of the propellers and adapted to have the driving force thereof exerted thereupon, one side of each of said pockets being open and communicating with the opening in the fuselage, an air pipe carried by the fuselage communicating with said pockets and having a discharge end for the air from said pocket for directing the same against said directional and elevational control means, a valve operatively arranged in said air pipe, drive means for said propellers, and means for controlling the angular vposition of the opening in said pockets.

ln combination, an aeroplane having a fuselage provided with an air space opening beneath the same and having the rear wall thereof inclined rearwardly and downwardly, said fuselage having openings in each side thereof, wings extending laterally from the fuselage with their inner ends supported transversely of said openings, directional and elevational control means at the rear end of the fuselage, a shaft extending transversely of the fuselage, an annular frame mounted on the ends of said shaft within the side openings of the fuselage and arranged for rotation independent of the shaft, walls formed on said annular frame constituting air pockets within the fuselage, with the inner walls of said pockets connected with each other, propellers mounted on the shaft within said pockets and adapted to exert their propelling force 'Iii Sil

lll)

lill() against the inner walls of said pockets, drive means for said propellers, an air pipe carried by the fuselage communicating with the pockets and having a clichal'ge port adapted 5 to direct the ail' from said pockets against the directional and elevational control means,

a control valve for said air pipe, said pockets having an open end communicating with the air space in the fuselage and means connected with said annular frame whereby to adjust 10 the angular position of the open end of said pockets. v

In testimony whereof I aix my signature.

GUSTAV PLOGER. 

